‘Sivantha Maan’ completes 53 years as the first Tamil film to be shot abroad.
Shooting overseas for Indian films is common these days. A number of Indian films, including regional films, have been shot abroad.
However, decades ago, shooting abroad was a huge feat and was considered a crowd-pulling factor for films.
Do you know about the first Tamil film made abroad?
In 1969, the film ‘Sivantha Maan’ written and directed by CV Sridhar was the first Tamil film to be shot abroad.
The movie stars none other than one of the legends of Tamil cinema, ‘Nadigar Thilakam’ Sivaji Ganesan. Actress Kanjana acted opposite him in the film. The film released on Diwali on 9th November.
France, Switzerland and parts of the Alps are shown extensively in the film, making it the first film shot outside India.
‘Revolutionary Leader’ MGR
But the film was originally to be made with ‘revolutionary leader’ MG Ramachandran. The shooting of the film, which had a different story at that time, started with the name ‘Angu Sindhya Rattam’.
But after shooting a few scenes, the film was almost shelved as MGR backed out.
‘Actor Thilak’ Sivaji Ganesan
Later, the project was revived with some changes to Shivaji and the story and renamed as Sivanta Man. MS Viswanathan came to compose music for the film.
The film ran for 50 days in all theaters and completed 100 days in 9 theaters.
The film’s success and the benchmark it set made France a preferred shooting location for Tamil and Telugu films over the next decade.